Apparatus for electric conductance cooking



me a Sheds-Sheet 1 Oct. 20, 1942.

E. L. \GRIFFITH APPARATUS FOR ELECTRIC CONDUCTANCE COOK Filed Oct. 19, 1940 Oct. 20, 1942. E. L. GRlFFlTH APPARATUS FOR ELECTRIC CONDUCTANGE COOKING Filed Oct. 19, 1940 a Sheets-Sheet 2 III III,

Oct. 20, 1942. E. 1.. GRIFFITH 2,299,083

7 APPARATUS FOR ELECTRIC CONDUCTANCE COOKING Fil'e'd Oct. 19, 1940 3"Sheets-Sheet 3 .received.

" electrode at thebottom on whichthe food.

Patented Oct. 20, 1942 Enoch a. Grifllth, Chicago, m, term.- to The Griflith Laboratories, Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application (Botober 19, 1940, Serial No. 361.,842

'1 Claims. '(01. sis-1c) trodemovable to lie on top of the food for contact.

The present invention relates generally to cooking articles of food by electrical conductance, and in particular it relates to the wholesale cooking or large pieces of meat, as required in the packunits for'domestic power voltages for use on lunch counters for cooking short orders sporadically as "The prior art devices are lacking in certain principles of construction and operation for use in production processes, as for example, in packing house practice. The successful cookers for irankiurters are of one general type, wherein two electrode systems are arranged to be bridged by a frankfurter, which in effect shorts the electrode systems by carrying a current which cooks the article. Encountered defects are heating too fast or too slow. Slow heating gives time for the casing to dry, embrittle, and burst. and this in general defeats the purpose of the cooker to hasten the process compared to normal means. Too-fast cooking generates steam and bursts the casing before proper attention to remove the i'rankiurter may be given.

I Buch cookers are timed generally by the nature or the electrode system. Some provide for an electrolyte solution, usually a kitchen salt solution, into which the ends oi. an arcuate franki'urter are dipped. with or without touching a metal electrode. Some provide means to. keep the article from touching the electrode, and others intend the article to touch the electrode. some permit great variations in the length of path through electrolyte to be traversed by the current before reaching the irankiurter. None of them are adapted for a straight length of articl such as a straight frankiurter, or a straight elongated piece of meat, or for a chunk of meat. some provide small areas of electrode, and some large areas relative to the area of the article of food in electrical contact. f

Another form of food cooker is a'vesscl with such as a roast, may rest,"wi th an upper elec- Use of liquid to reach up to or above the top electrode is recommended to avoid burning. Another recommended form is a box with fixed vertical plates as electrodes between which meat to be cooked is packed close to the electrodes.

In experimenting with devices of this general nature for use in a wholesale industry, many de- I i'ects in principle and application have been discovered which appear to be reasons why this art has not developed commercially in house or a like production use.

Rapid cooking is an essential result in order to compete with prior practice. An advantage of quick cooking is minimizing of shrinkage, which is enhanced where the food is submerged in water or electrolyte solution. Therefore, minimizing long-time contact with water while cooking is a desired feature. In order to secure rapid cooking the current must be relatively high. This is at tained by the natureof the electrical contact to the food. Where the robe a large area of contact gives the current required, but it also produces scorching at contact,

which affects the appearance and taste.- A small area of contact in the absence of electrolyte or liquid likewisegives a local high current to induce f scorching. Surrounding a small area of contact with a conducting electrolyte tends to minimize, but does not avoid the scorching. A large area of direct contact toan electrode cannot be supplied with .a quenching liquid or electrolyte. In

the small frankiurter cookers, the depth of elec- 'trolyte, the form, small size and weight of the frankfurter, may permit a tangential contact with a metal electrode, and such has not been found to be a serious disadvantage. However, i

it an attempt is made to duplicate the nature or this contact with a large sized encased meat, such as 3 to 4 inch-diameter bologna, the weight of the article tends to flatten the form at contact and induce burning, even it the contact is cov- 'ered with electrolyte. Also the amount of curby an electrolyte solution which itself is in contact with the electrode. In experimenting with such principle, several important things have been discovered. Enough current must be supplied to the food to eflect speed in cooking. The

resistance of the circuit between the food and the packing touches an electrode,

electrical contact by liquid to the article.

the electrode must be low while avoiding a localized heavy current to the food. A large area of electrode must be provided so that current tends to converge to food through electrolyte. Sum:- cient minimum distance between food and electrode must prevail to permit this and to avoid local heavy current at the nearest area of the food to the electrode. The concentration of electrolyte in the liquid, such as sodium chloride, may be varied to control the current, and hence the time of cooking.

While attempting to consider all of these features, and at the same time to avoid excess bathing of the food in the electrolyte, it has been found that one condition may work against an-' other, and, that a balance must be effected.

In limiting the depth'of liquid for contact, it

p is desirable to avoid submerging the article, in

part to limit or avoid a liquid conductance path between the electrodes and parallel to the article, without impairing the desired efiectiveness of The present invention aims to secure these results.

Another feature of the invention is to limit the time period of electrical cooking, not only for economy in power, but to limit shrinkage and limit change in surface appearance.

One object of the presentinvention is to provide apparatus for production of electrically cooked meats and meat products, adapted for a wholesale use.

A particular object of the invention is to provide a cooking cell into which horizontally extending articles of meat or meat products may be placed without immersing the same in electrolyte, with provision for electrical contact to the article through an electrolytemedium.

Another'object of the invention is the provision of means relatively torelevate the article of food Fig. 4 represents a front view of a cooking cabinet with drawer-like cooking trays.

Fig. 5 is a view of horizontal section of the cabinet on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a view of vertical section of thecabinet from front to rear on line H of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a view of a fragmentary vertical section of the cabinet of Fig. 4 on line 1-1 thereof,

' showing the construction and the locking of the drawer. I

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a contact bar in the rear of the cabinet.

Fig. 9 is a front elevation of a. modified form v Fig. 10 is a view of a vertical section of the assembly of Fig. 9 taken on line Ill-40 thereof.

Fig. 11 is a plan-view of one of the trays of the assembly of Fig. 9.

Fig. 12 is a view of a verticalsection of the tray of Fig. 11 taken on line l2--|2 thereof.

Fig. 1 represents a cell which may be made of plastic material, such as Bakelite, with electrodes incorporated in the molding. It has a box-like body I0, and is large enough to housea large ham, a turkey, or several bologna about 20 inches long. In the ends are electrode plates Ii and I2, which may be iron, steel, carbon, or chromium-plated metal. Connector studs I3 and I! pass to the outer side of the box as terminals for cables I! and I6. v

In the bottom, means is provided to serve as a supporting platform area for one or more bodies so that its ends in contact with the electrolyte 49 article to be cooked to form electrolyte pools for contact to the article, and to exclude electrolyte from contact with the intermediate portion of the article to be cooked.

Another object of the invention is the. provi sion of a cell, in which an article is exposed to the atmosphere in the cell, with means to confine water vapor in said cell, whereby the drying out of the exposed article is minimized during the cooking.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a type of cell structure which may be used in plurality, one cell with others, with a maximum of convenience in use.

Various other and ancillary objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description 'and explanation of the invention, in part explained by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan-view of a cooker in whichja fowl is shown, placed for cooking.

. Fig. 2 is. a view of a vertical longitudinal sec-- tion of the cooker of Fig. 1-on line 2-2 thereof. Fig. 3 is a view of a vertical section of the cooker on line 3-3 of 1'18. 2,

to be cooked. Preferably such means is molded integrally with a plastic box 10, but it may be removable inserts. As shown, it comprises integral bars Il on the floor, dividing the floor into isolated wells or pools, i9 and 20 at the ends, and 2| intermediate the ends. The end pools contain the electrodes II and I2.

An article to be cooked is placed upon the platform whereby it is raised to permit electrolyte in the pools l9 and 20 to provide current to the underside of the article, convergingly from path of the current, such as blocks of wood 23 and 24. This principle may be applied in the apparatus of Fig. l and in the other and modified forms for the same objectives, and such insulators are more particularly useful in a cell with deeper electrolyte, a large irregular form, or one incompletely loaded withregular forms. The resuit is not only one in economy, but in concentrating the electrical contact to the article more to the ends or portions in the vicinity of the clos trodes. Also for this objective, the wings and legs of fowl, are tied down to the body of the fowl to create and maintain bigger endwise bulk for such contact.

The cell is provided with a lid II to keep water vaporin the cell in contact with the exposed area of the article being cooked.

Theapparatus of Fig. 1 may be used in a hotel I or like kitchen for quickly cooking a fowl or a ham. Also a plurality may be cooked atonce.

. l escapee them in parallel on the bars i1. However, in

' out slightly, or more so, from the cabinet The drawers may be as deep as desired, and as many as desired. Wood is a suitable meterial as w it may be easily replaced. It may have plastic ves if desired, or it mey be a wood core with an integral plastic coet molded to it. Where it is sply wood, the drawers are made u ciently loose fitting to take care of swelling, but such lcoseness is not illustrated in the drawings. In Fig. l, the numeral 86 represents a chest like cabinet having the buck panel at fitted-with parallel contact bars 82 and 83 vertically in the rear corners. These have te M t is 36 and 35 ut the back for cables at and 1317. Fig. 8 shows bur 33 with resilient oil-set portions 88 spaced to contact a companion member on a drawer.

Each drawer is designated 69. It has pulling handles or knobs M on the trout. The sides of the drawer (ends of the cell) have electrode plates 82 and 63 secured to the drawer, and each electrode has an angular extension II, which may be welded to the plate at the rear. One face of the angle-extension'lies against the back of the drawer to make contact with one oi the parts II on the cabinet contact bars 32 and 33.

The interior of the drawer issimilar, fundamentally, 'to the bottom of the cell of Fig. 1.

There are parallel strips 45, as oi. wood, secured to the floor, forming electrode pools l0 and 41 and intermediate pools ll. The lower drawer is shown as being filled with bologna B, placed on 3 bologna may touch each other advantageously to reduce the liquid path alongside the bologna.

In operation, thecabinet encloses the space in the cell to retain water vapor. No current can ilow in a cell until it is, closed, and hence there is little danger of an operator inserting his hand into the cell, or of touching a live part oi the cell. A look, as irrthe form of aturn button Bl, may be provided for each drawer, to keep it closed with-pressure on the resilient contact member 38.

The tray or cell structure of the invention is not limited to the form shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 4. A modified cell interior is shown and is incorporated in a modified assembly 01' Fig. 9 for a plurality of cells. This constitutes a cell or tray of which a plurality maybe superimposed to form an operative stack, the cover oi which may be used to provide i'inal contact. Eachtray is made with an electrical contact above and below, to complete a current connection throughout the pile.

Thus, in Fig. 10, a box-like tray. 54 is shown with an electrode having a horizontal portion 55 and a vertical portion 5!. The vertical portion extends over the top edge at 51, down the side at SI, and under the bottom at 59. The bottom:

part I! ilts over the top part 5'! of another tray,

' as they are piled. A,lid or cover is provided with two contact bars II and 62, terminals 83 and I4, and cables and I. The bars I and 62 are positioned to rest on tray contacts 51 when the lid is on a tray. The cover 6|, or the bottom 75 means having openings tor the entry of the ar-v or a covering tray 84, keeps water vapor in the cell.

The cell structure has dams designed tor cooperation with bologna-like. articles to close the dams and form elevated pools of electrolyte at the electrodes. Thus, the high partitions i8 and 6! have recesses ll therein to receive bologna, as

shown, with ends E projecting into the electrode pools II and 12. Intermediate strips 15 support the oi the articles andprovide intermediate pools l5. I

The electrode r are shown having electro solution deed above the lower part oi the w: of the it which need not be immersed at all. If the dams leek fluid, it flaws into the adjacent wells it as shown, and it need not enter the innermost one. Thus, there is no liquid path across the cell, filled end lea es illustrated and described lor Fig. 10. The intermediate strips serve u other; to in and prevent a ble liquid connection across the floor oi the cell.

It is understood it all oi the cells are preferably placed on a suitable platform, such as shown at l3l, electrically insulated.

Alternating current is employed to avoid electrolysis and electro-migration. Practically, for large sizes of meats industrially encountered, and for the desired quick cooking time industrially required, a voltage her than volts is indicated, and preferably 220 volts is used. A three phase system may be employed, using three like units, as will be well understood by electricians, and in such cases. the units are similarly filled and operated to eil'ect a balanced load.

The apparatus maybe used inwvarlous ways,

and in particular to practice the method set forth in my companion c'oi'iled application Serial No. 381,841,.illed October 19, 1910. Various modifications of the apparatus are contemplated as falling within the scope oi the'appended claims.

I claim:

1. An electric cell for cooking articles of food comprising a container having electrodes at opposite portions thereof and adapted to contain an electrolyte solution in contact with said electrodes. said cell being provided with a bottom hav-- ing means providing a horizontal level adapted to support an article of food placed between the electrodes in horizontal extent and in position above the bottom of the floor and the bottom of v the solution in contact with the electrodes. said .means comprising a plurality of spaced vertical partitions running transversely of the cell and of the direct line between the electrodes whereby to cut ofladirect ilow 0! current between the electrodes through electrolyte between two spaced partitions. said cell permitting the top level of the solution in contact with the electrodes to be located above thefbottom of said article, whereby an article may be placed in the cell with ends thereof directed towards the electrodes with contact liquid beneath said ends.

2. An electric cell tor cooking articles of food I comprising a container having electrodes at oppotowards the electrode, and means to dam-electrolyte solution to form a pool at each electrode raised above the floor and above the supporting level provided by said means, said damming comprising a container having electrodes atop- 3. An electric cell for cooking articles of food comprising a container having electrodes at opposite portions thereof and adapted to contain an v electrolyte solution in contact with said electrodes, said cell being provided with a bottom having means providing a horizontal level adapted to support an article in horizontal extent and in position above the bottom level of said electrolyte, said cell also being provided with wells in the vicinity of the electrodes with bottoms below the article-supporting level of the cell, whereby the end of an article supported in the cell may proiect over the well for electrolyte contact beneath the end of the article, said means extending transversely to the direct line from well to well whereby to cut oil? electric current in said direct line.

4. An electric cell for cooking articles of food comprising a container having electrodes at opposite portions thereof, and adapted to contain in contact with the electrodes, said dam partitions being notched to receive the opposed portions of an article in part below the level of liquid in the pool.

6. An electric cell for cooking articles of food comprising a container having electrodes at opposite portions thereof and adapted to contain an electrolyte solution in contact with said electrodes, said cell being provided with a plurality of spaced partitions on the floor providing a grid-like platform to support an article to be cooked in elevated position above the floor of the cell, said partitions crossing the cell transversely of the direct line between the electrodes whereby they article.

an electrolyte solution in contact with said electrodes, said cell'being provided with spaced dam partitions to form spaced pools for electrolyte in contact with the electrodes, said dam partitions being recessed for being plugged by opposite portions of an article to be cooked, whereby contact between the electrolyte and the article may be made with electrolyte at a higher level in the pool than the level of any electrolyte in the space between the dam partitions containing the body of the article. a

5. An electric cell for cooking articles of food posite portions thereof and adapted to contain an electrolyte solution in contact with said electrodes, saidcell being provided .with spaced dam partitions to form spaced pools for electrolyte serve to cut of! a liquid conductance path along the floor of the cell through electrolyte between two spaced partitions beneath the supported 7. An electric cell for cooking articles of food comprising a container having electrodes at op posite portions thereof and adapted to contain an electrolyte solution in contact with said electrodes, said cell being provided with a plurality of spaced partitions on the floor providing a gridlike platform to support an article to be cooked in elevated position above the floor of the cell, said partitions crossing the cell in a direction transverse to the direct line between the electrodes whereby they'serve to cutofl a liquid conductance path in a direct line between electrodes along the floor of the cell beneath the supported article, the partitions adjacent the electrodes being higher to form dams for pools of electrolyte, said damming partitions being provided with openings to be closed by the supported article for electrical contact to the electrolyte in the pool.

E NOCH L. GRIFFITH. 

